Kat's Notebook » deals around town

My top gifts for under $20

Katkat — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 06:57:07 +0000

What I want for Christmas? Well…I can’t ask for a high-ticket item because I don’t revolve around that kind of circle. Our family tradition during Christmas is to give gifts to each member of the family tree present in that occasion. I thank God that I have saved enough for this year to be able to give gifts. As they say blessed is the cheerful giver!

Anyway my message is not about giving gifts but what I want to get as gifts. ~~Hehehehe~~ Hohohoho! I was thinking of writing such email to my aunts so that they will have an idea what to give me for Christmas and…birthday, if they remember. I’m going to set my price limit to $20 (however if the giver wants to go higher, who am I to stop them?" I’m a very picky person and if I don’t say what I really want the person will keep giving me things that I don’t want. Anyway these are some of the items that have delighted me because I always think of buying them but I never do buy them wishing that someone just give it to me…for free!

1. Kitchen Apron – I can’t believe aprons can be so expensive. The cheapest I can find was at Cost Plus World Market at 19.99!

2. Silpat baking mat made from France – 16.99 at Sur La Table.

3. Flannel/Plush pajama set – with the cold weather, I’m wishing for a warm and comfy pajamas. 16.49 at Sears.

4. Pillow Pet – I’m jealous of my mom’s pillow pet. I want one for myself too! 19.99 at Target.

5. A Popcorn Factory Christmas Gift – A Wintry Wonder Sampler sells for 19.99 at Popcorn Factory!

6. Infinity/Eternity Scarf – looks cool and warm, 14.99 at Target.

7. Knit Monkey Hat – I’m always looking for an interesting winter hat. 19.99 at Target.

8. Body lotion –bath and body works body lotions have an on-going promo of Buy 3 Get 3 free!

Well that’s it I guess…Other gifts I can think of are above $20. Gift money is always welcome too!

Apple store joining the Black Friday sales!

Katkat — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 06:50:32 +0000

Generally Apple is such a snob that its popularity can ignore the sales that Black Friday event generates. It doesn’t join the Black Friday bandwagon. It doesn’t really give huge discount because discount or no discount, consumers are still going to buy it. It’s like an electronic staple. But I was surprised when my brother told me this morning that Apple will be giving discounts on many of its items. Whoopeee! Or so I thought. When I looked at bfads.net for Apple’s BF sales, I was a bit disappointed. The price slashes were so minimal that I decided to still wait on buying a macbook and ipod touch as I originally planned. Oh well.

For those who want to snap up an Apple item discounts, check out its ad scans. And be sure to visit the Apple website on November 25th for the Black Friday sales event! Happy shopping!

Black Friday sale is here again!

Katkat — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 03:27:00 +0000

In the US, November is known for its Thanksgiving holiday. For the US consumers, Black Friday sale follows this event. It signals the start of Christmas shopping and great bargain deals. I always miss this big sale opportunity. It’s either I’m not in the country, or I don’t have money, or I am working that day. This year, the second reason is going to prevail. After my Japan trip, my bank account is unable to recuperate quickly enough to join the biggest sale of the year! However I’m still going to write down a list, hoping Santa will be able to deliver them as my Christmas and birthday presents. *wink wink*

My number 1 source for Black Friday sale items is at bfads.net. Since two weeks ago it has emailed me sneak preview of the sales from different stores. Okay so here’s my list:

1. Kitchenaid Classic Stand mixer – 179.99 at Macy’s

2. Schwinn Windwood Women’s Bike – 129.99 at K-Mart

3. Portable Hard drive: Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 750GB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive – 59.99 at Bestbuy

4. Magellan 2035 GPS – 85.49 at Sears

5. Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FH25 16.1MP 2.75" LCD 8x Optical Zoom Digital Camera – 99.99 at BJ’s Wholesale

I hope some stores can give out lower prices. I’m waiting for Costco for the GPS and camera. If I can’t buy it, for me it’s always fun to just get into the spirit of bargain hunting and window shopping! Oh well it’s still only 23 days left until Thanksgiving.

Macbook on sale?

Katkat — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:05:39 +0000

If you’re waiting for Apple products to go on sale, you’ll be waiting for a very long time. Apple doesn’t go on sale ever. Their products just get upgraded. But from June to Sept 20, you can get a really good deal on Macbooks from the Apple.com store. With its education pricing program, the Macbook gets slashed off a hundred bucks (Macbook air only 50 bucks). If you buy a printer along with it, then another hundred dollars rebate for the printer. Some printers are only 99 bucks so that’s free printer for you! And with this program they also give out Back to School card worth a hundred dollars eligible for spending on the Apple store, itunes and apple.com. Tip: you can spend it on their softwares like iWork, Microsoft office, etc.

That’s 300USD in savings!!! Hurry this promo will end on Sept 20.

Gap Outlet coupon

Katkat — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 04:44:04 +0000

Coach outlet is having a sale too and it’s 30%off. Just visit the store and the sales associate will give you the coupon. Happy shopping!

$10 off at Victoria’s Secret

Katkat — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:47:46 +0000

I got this coupon when I purchased some things from the Victoria Secret website. Unfortunately I don’t have anything else to buy so I won’t be able to use this $10off. Lucky for you though…(first come first serve basis!) Oh yeah…this expires on July 31 2011.

Happy shopping!

Starbucks happy hour!

Katkat — Sat, 14 May 2011 04:09:05 +0000

This post may be a little bit late but for those people who don’t know yet, Starbucks is having a happy cocktail hour for their frappuccino. From May 6 to May 15 from 3-5pm, Starbucks is selling their frap half off! I availed of this promo earlier today with a customized frap blend of mocha and hazelnut. I didn’t like it. Fortunately I didn’t spend too much on it. Maybe tomorrow I’ll try a different one. So if you’re a frap lover, head to your nearest Starbucks for a happy hour!

Coach, Gap, Banana Republic coupons

Katkat — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:38:14 +0000

If anyone of you are heading to the outlet store this weekend, here are some coupons you might enjoy. Have a crazy shopping!

Celebrating at Town San Carlos restaurant

Katkat — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 02:04:00 +0000

For my mom’s birthday, I decided to treat her to a popular restaurant in downtown San Carlos, Town. Every time we would pass by this place, it’s jam-packed so I have followed the my friend’s advice and booked a reservation ahead of time. Town is known for its steak and wine. I’ve been wanting to try this place a long time ago but I knew that it would be pricey so I passed up the opportunity until now. Costco was running a promo of 2 50USD gift card at Town/Nola/Milagros for only 79.99. I purchased this gift card in time for our night out at Town.

When we got there at exactly 8pm, we weren’t ushered into our seats immediately. We waited 5-10minutes before a table was made available for us. The place was dimly-lit, a wine bar encircled the center of the restaurant, and TV monitors hang discreetly in some corners of the room playing sports game. People were dressed up and the place was so busy. We were glad that we perused the menu while waiting to be seated because we were already hungry. Our server wasn’t very attentive and personable but I didn’t blame him because of the busy crowd. He didn’t make suggestions just quickly jotted our orders and left. Our food came in 10-15minutes later. Throughout the meal we had trouble calling for him. He was just hurrying.

Here’s my quick take on the food:

Filet mignon “Baseball cut” with sides of mashed potato and wine braised mushrooms. We never had filet mignon and it sounded expensive so this was a best time to splurge on it. The steak was really tasty but we had it cooked well-medium so it bordered on being dry and slightly firm. Next time (if there’s a next time) we would have liked it cooked medium rare. The sides were disappointing (at 6USD a piece) especially the mushrooms which weren’t fresh but came from a can!

Seared Sashimi grade Ahi Tuna. We enjoyed this dish very much. I loved the sauce made for the sashimi. The steamed jasmine rice with pea sprout garnish was also very delicious. The meal was very light but filling. Don’t pass this up!

Sparkling Pink Guava Cooler (HAND SQUEEZED LIME JUICE,ORGANIC AGAVE NECTAR, PINK GUAVA PUREE, SPARKLING SODA) The description in the menu sounded nice but when I drank it I didn’t like the sparkling soda they put in it.

No Heat-O (MUDDLED MINT, FRESH SQUEEZED LIME JUICE, HOUSE MADE MINT INFUSED SIMPLE SYRUP, SODA) It tasted like leaves in a cool drink.

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee. This was very delicious especially that the berries on top of it complement the vanilla flavor of the custard well. However the custard consistency was crumbly and soggy which I knew shouldn’t be. Nonetheless we enjoyed it and the server waived the cost of the dessert when he found out that it was my mom’s birthday.

It was a great evening. My mom truly enjoyed her dinner celebration which what really counted. Our meal came down to 75 plus tip. I was glad I bought that gift card from Costco. Will I come back here? Absolutely not. It was an expensive restaurant but it didn’t deliver to its value, too bad.

Negotiating with Priceline

Katkat — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 18:18:00 +0000

Have you seen that ad of Mr. Priceline Negotiator, William Shatner? I love his character and it was totally convincing. I have never had much faith in these travel search engines because they gave me too much options, open a lot of pop-ups, and sometimes I couldn’t keep track which search engine it was. Since we have AAA membership, we did a lot of our booking thru AAA not knowing that these travel websites can give me a better deal.

Priceline

For our Oregon trip, I decided to search for hotels using these travel agents. I initially googled “Portland lodging” and clicked on the Expedia search result. Expedia has great options but because I love a good bargain, I decided to canvass prices from other travel agents too. Mr. Priceline Negotiator came to mind and I was ecstatic to discover cheaper hotel prices than those in Expedia. Not satisfied, I tried other websites such as Travelocity, Orbitz, Kayak, etc. Of all these travel websites, I discovered that Priceline gave me the greatest deal.

Priceline is easy to use. I can filter my search and still give me a lot of hotel choices. Each choice has its reviews, hotel details, cost, etc. They have daily hotel deals and chopped fees which truly lowers the price better than its competitor. I also compare it with using AAA discount and Priceline still has the lowest price. They also give away travel vouchers which you can use for your next booking.

Another advantage is the Name Your Price option which I did for our hotel in Downtown Portland. For a 3-star hotel in downtown, I got our room in Marriott Hotel for only 85USD. Normally downtown hotels at that star rating range from 130-150. However when using the Name Your Price option, I couldn’t refund my money once the purchase is made. The room assigned to you can only accommodate up to 2 people. But special request (I requested 2 double beds) can be made directly to the hotel. A downside of this option is you also wouldn’t know which hotel they will give to you. And you have to pay first before finding out. For me, I would have chosen a different hotel because the hotel doesn’t have free parking, free breakfast or free wifi. Since I bought it already, I couldn’t cancel and refund. It still turned out great though because the hotel is very clean and upscale and walking distance to a lot of places in downtown.

In conclusion, I would still recommend Priceline. I would definitely use it for my future travels.